What can a parent do besides teaching in the homeschool classroom that can help the homeschool students be more successful? There are so many things that you can do that it may make you feel like you are not doing enough. However when all is said and done, there are a few things that you should be doing to ensure that your child is able to handle his studies.
Clarify all Basic Concepts
The concepts that the homeschool student learns in the preliminary years is what everything else will be built on later. That makes it vital for your homeschool classroom to be a place where they can easily clarify all their doubts. There are many tools and tests available to the homeschool parent to use to confirm that the basics have been understood well by their children. Make use of them. Catch the problem areas and work on them now, before they end up costing your child in the long run.
Master Basic Facts with Drills
The sheer art of repeating something a couple of dozen times till the student knows it backwards can be very beneficial to the student. Multiplication tables, periodic table facts, no matter what it is you need them to memorize, the final test is that the child should be able to give you the answer to a question within five seconds. That means it is well entrenched in his mind and he will be able to recall the information when required. This mindless repetition of drills is often the least favourite part of the day for the student and that’s when your encouragement and motivation can make all the difference.
Encourage More Practice
Most homeschool students are happy doing the questions that they have been assigned to do. As a teacher you should encourage them to find and solve more questions for extra practice of the topic. The more time they spend developing their skills with practice, the more confident they will be of their own problem solving abilities later on. Plus the practice may bring out some misunderstood concepts as well which can then be addressed in a timely manner.
